The Spider and the Swan
"Sneaky, silent, deadly, the spider rest in the shadows of the world waiting for its prey to clumsily stumble into its web. Once trapped, and helpless, it devours it. The life of a spider is one filled with deception. Not only must they deceive, but they must see through it in order to obtain whatever they want," her voice radiated across the wooden counter. "That's why, the spider is my favorite creature." It was a tone rooted with intensity, but masked with playfulness. It was alluring, and the scary part was that it was almost like a drug. He needed it, so he kept asking more questions, and despite how sadistic, stupid, or annoying her answers were, he didn't stop listening. It wasn't just him; every man and woman in the bar were silently listening to her speak, and the one person that attempted to speak whenever she spoke was met with the glares of the devoted listeners around them. When she left, they realized her answers didn't make much sense, and when she spoke it was awkward sounding. The syntax was all wrong, and her jumbling didn't make it any better. It left only one question: why were they so drawn? Tales of this woman spread across the towns, then the land, then the continent, and finally the world. She appeared in the brisk of the night, luring people away from their homes, and into the woods. After that happened, they returned bankrupt, or they didn't. People attempted to claim her identity, and it was always an uncertainty whether she was truly around. But those that had met her knew the difference. After-all, they were the ones who lived truly in fear, because they had been exposed to true helplessness. When she was around, individual thought didn't exist. Whatever she spoke was truth, and that power is what they feared. Fortunately, she rarely emerged from her labyrinth with evil intent, but tonight was a different night. The predator was seeking a prey, and the destination was the village hidden in the leaves. Konohagakure was revered for its rather mild temperatures: hot summers, cool winters, etc. The summer day was bright and sunny, and the nights were illuminated by the light of the moon, with gentle breezes that skimped throughout the village. In the center rest the village's most favored restaurant; was renown for hosting the most prestigious shinobi: Naruto Uzumaki, Kakashi Hatake, Minato Namikaze. If there was a place that she had to visit, it was this place. Afterall, Natsumi's favorite hobbies were working, and eating. When she arrived, an greeted her with warm arms, accompanied by what seemed to be her younger son. She ordered their pork-ramen, and when they went into the back, she read a newspaper quietly during her wait. And as they usually were, the Konohagakure street were buzzing with live. From the smallest of children to the elderly themselves -- the people of Konoha were hard working-- and among these people, was one of Konoha's known shinobi. A product of the Sixth Hokage and the renowned Sayuri Uchiha and supposedly next in line for the mantel of Fire Shadow. His brilliant silver hair shined bright from the sun's radiance, his visage bore a bright smile, friendly to all whom he'd meet. A proud inheritor of the Hatake surname. Scrolling through the streets of the majestic village, Katoku wandered past Ichiraku's noticing an unfamiliar figure that grasped his attention ever so tightly. "Oh... Well who is this?" Katoku said walking into the ramen shop. He stood next to the woman, still wearing his causal smile.. "Hey There.." He started lamely, "you don't seem to be from around here." Natsumi remained submerged in the newspaper, but when she heard no one else respond, she quickly deduced he was talking to her. "Oh!" her exclamation was quickly followed by a rapid folded of the paper, unveiling her face. "I didn't realize you were....er, talking with me." She gave him a pointed look. "You know, for some odd reason, you look quite familiar." She turned around, masking whatever object she had pulled out her coat from Katoku's eyes. Regardless, the rippling of pages clearly gave Katoku a valid idea of exactly what she was holding. Placing the book back into her coat, she turned back around. Her face contorted in confusion. "Uh...shouldn't you be wearing a mask or something?" "Uhh.. A mask?" Katoku said in mild confusion. He drifted his eyes to the left before staring back at the woman. "Ohhh. I see!" He concluded giving a hearty chuckle. "I'm sorry. You have me mistaken for my father. Ah yes. My father. The senile Kakashi Hatake. I think that quite funny actually." Katoku continued as he took a seat next to the newcomer. And as he did so, Ayame had returned with the woman's order; bringing Katoku to greet her. "Oh hi Katoku!" He responded happily, "So what will it be today? The usual or shall I surprise you?" "Oh no, I'm fine actually. Just stopped by to welcome this lovely newcomer to our village." "Oh alright.. Well if you need anything, please do call." And with that, she disappeared into the back. By then, Katoku had redirected his attention back on Natsumi, just watching as she ate. "So uhh. What brings you to our village?" Just as Katoku turned back to Natsumi, she turned back to face him. It was almost obvious she took another look at her book, because she still seemed to be examining his face, as if she didn't believe him. "Right...your father, mhm." She flipped around to the counter, broke apart two chopsticks placed together, and slurped a bit of the ramen. Her eyes lit up enthusiastically. "Wow, that's delicious! You eat this stuff all the time?" She gorged down a mouthful. "No wonder you leaf ninja are all so big! Especially those ones with the face-paint. They're huge! Hell, I'd be big too!" Natsumi giggled, until she realized exactly what she said, and how she said it. Quickly, she turned towards Katoku. "I didn't mean big like that, you know. Not like the other big, but the big tall, and big wide," Natsumi rambled, flailing her arms around in conjunction. "I wouldn't know about if they were big, nuh uh. I've never been here before, so I definitely wouldn't. No sir-ree." Katoku should help be slightly laugh at the woman's level if awkwardness. "Mhmm." He said, slightly moving in closer. "You don't get abs like mine from just eating. Oh and trust me.... I'm pretty big." He boasted patting his stomach while laughing simultaneously. "Yes but I do eat here frequently.. Well whenever my mom decides she wishes to starve me." He pouted slumping his head towards to counter top. "But." He suddenly said, lifting his head back up. "That's where Ayame comes in. She'll feed me whenever my mom won't." There was a sudden series of awkward silences between the two.. "Shoot... I might just take Ayame up on that offer... I'm feeling a bit hungry myself... Or maybe.. I should have someone else for dinner." He said in a seductive manner. Natsumi flinched. "Eating? Someone Else?" Her tone was more concerned than confused. "Oh, no, no, no, no. You can't do that! You know what'll happen right?" Judging from Katoku's facial expressions, Natsumi deduced that he didn't. Obviously, he was rather confused on what she thought he meant by eating someone else, or how in the hell she could mistake his statement. Of course, Natsumi didn't catch on. "First, you'll rip out their spine as some sort of pitching wedge to hack off all their limbs so they can't fight back. Then, you'll devour them, and ride their body like some sort of meat tobagon. Try getting that image out of your head," Natsumi spoke quickly, "Grippin' their entrails like the reins of Santa's sleigh, streaking through the fresh morning snow on a trail of bile and gore, as their eyes beg the same question as the horrified children in your wake: Why?" Natsumi got gradually closer to Katoku as she spoke, until her face was positioned in front of his own. Her eyes were in a frenzy, her breath unsteady, "And then, once you think you've won, blood will drip from the lids of your eyes, your face will turn green, and as you choke on your own saliva you'll find your liver oozing from your own ass." Natsumi backed away, and took another chug of her ramen. "And that's why, you shouldn't go eat people. I beg that you reconsider."